Evelyn (Rose) Bois,

Student at Hornbine School

1926 - 1934

Three generations of the Rose family attended The Hornbine School. My
Grandfather,
Anthony Rose, attended The Hornbine School in the 1870’s. His wife,
Florinda,
and he had eight children who attended Hornbine School around the
turn of the century. One of their children, Manuel, married Martha
Daily,
who had attended The Long Hill School. They had seven children who
attended
Hornbine School between 1926 and 1937 before the school was closed.

Evelyn on the far left with her siblings.

Three generations of Roses, including me -
Evelyn Rose
Bois, walked to school from Purchase Street. My father and his father
before
him, walked two miles each way. We did not have a school bus in the
Hornbine
area of town during the twenties and thirties so my siblings and I
walked
one mile to school.We
were expected to attend school no matter what! We never had what
is now called “snow days”. Our teacher, Mrs. Hopkins, drove 10
miles
and was always there to teach when we arrived. We walked to school in
the
snow or rain and dried our shoes or boots (and often socks) near the
wood
burning stove if it was necessary. If
we came to school late, particularly in good weather, we had to stay
after
3:30 PM to make up for the lost time. Then, our folks would
punish
us when we arrived home. We were needed at home to perform many chores
like picking strawberries.

Evelyn’s
sister, Dot, with her mother after picking many baskets of strawberries.

We
were expected to go to school dressed as best we could every day. The
boys
always had to wear a shirt and bow tie. They dressed in knickers and
eventually
they wore long pants. The girls always wore a dress or skirt and blouse.

Mrs. Mary Magan was our school janitor. She would start the wood
burning
stove every morning about 6 AM to have the school warm when we arrived. She
also brought one pail of drinking water for the day. We had the water
in
a stone crock. (In my father’s day it was a pail.) We had a dipper for
all of us to drink from. We didn’t have paper cups for each individual. We
arrived at 8:30 AM to get things ready for 9:00 O'clock. The boys had
to
bring in the wood and be sure to keep the stove going for the day.
Often,
in cold weather, the girls would start to prepare vegetables for the
school
hot lunch. At
9:00 AM, Mrs. Hopkins, who taught all seven grades, would ring the
school
bell which she kept on her desk. We would line up out side with
the
first graders in front, followed by the second graders etc. with the
eighth
grade students in back. We would then march in and go to our seats. Next,
we would salute the flag. Then, we’d say a prayer and sing a patriotic
song like God Bless America. After that, it was off to work.
Class size varied. We had eight grades in the one room with anywhere
between
0 to 5 students in each grade. Our school was filled with Perrys,
Almeidas, Bettencourts and Roses along with a few additional families. We
studied all the school subjects with Mrs. Hopkins. We didn’t switch
classes
like the children do today.
The teacher would prepare and begin the lessons for the younger
students.
The older children helped the teacher with the younger students.
Students
who were fast learners could pick up the next class work much faster. We
learned Arithmetic, History, Geography Reading and Spelling among
other subjects.
We had a spelling bee once a week. We would have two teams, one on each
side of the room. We would see who could stay up the longest without
misspelling
a word. For a prize, we would get a small book. I received a book
that I still have after all these years.
We even had cooking. The families would bring in farm vegetables and
Mrs.
Hopkins would show the girls how to cook them. We made cream carrot
soup
or potato or vegetable soups for a hot lunch in the winter. We all had
our own dishes but drank from the same container. During
warmer weather, we would have bread and jelly sandwiches our mothers
made.
We brought our lunches to school in a paper bag or lunch pail. We
had to go out side to the bathroom. We were expected to use the privy
before
school or during our lunch hour. We were not allowed to go any time we
wanted to during the school day. We
had no electric lights. We only had the window light to use during the
school day. Our only heat was the wood burning stove. We
didn’t have a lot of books in those days so we had to share them.
There were only 3 or 4 books for each grade. Mrs. Hopkins would give
each
of us a chance to take books home to study. During
recess, the boys might play ball, tag or marbles on one side of the
school
yard. The girls might play Ring around the rosie, hide and go
seek,
roll the hoop, jump the rock, jump rope or hopscotch on the other side.
If it rained, we played bean bag in school.
If we did not behave, we were punished. Mrs. Hopkins made
students
sit under the teacher’s desk. Other times, students were made to sit in
the waste basket. A ruler was also used as a quick way to punish an
offender. We
used pens with ink wells. The boys, at times, put the girls’ hair in
the
ink wells. When this happened, the offender had to sit on the wood pile
in the back of the room for a half hour. Mr.
Whitman, the superintendent, came to the school once a month. He
would be the one to punish us if the teacher thought that was what we
needed.
He would speak to the student who misbehaved and then he would speak to
the parents. Mrs.
Cole, the school nurse, came by to check the students' health once a
month.
She and Dr. Swift, who also visited once a month, gave us all of our
shots.
They checked our eyes, throats, teeth and gave us the T. B. test once a
year. If things weren't right, Mrs. Cole would go to see our parents or
take us home if it was necessary.

Mrs.
Cole, the nurse, (left) and Mrs. Hopkins, teacher, (right) outside the
Hornbine School during one of Mrs. Cole’s monthly visits.

We didn't have vacations every eight weeks as the children do today. We
only had a few holidays off from school. Each
year, our parents would come to school and watch us put on a Christmas
play. We would dress up in our “Sunday Best” for the day. We all had to
remember a poem and our part in a play.
I remember that we all got a candy cane. We might receive a pencil with
our name on it from the teacher. This would help us have a pencil at
all
times. Many
children, like my father, left school when they were fourteen. We were
farmers and the family needed the children to work. Some students in
our
area continued on to local high schools.

Evelyn,
in her, “homemade”, seventh grade graduation dress. Eighth grade
students
from Hornbine attended the Bark Street School in Swansea at that time.

My father and grandfather attended the Hornbine School when it was a
smaller
building. The desks were arranged facing the front as they are today.
My
siblings and I attended The Hornbine School after it was expanded. At
that
time, the desks had been reversed, facing the back of the building, so
we wouldn't be easily distracted by traffic passing by the front door! I
‘ ve always enjoyed visiting The Hornbine School. My husband, Joe, and
I attend the open house, each second and fourth Sunday between June and
September, as often as we can. We enjoy meeting friends, old classmates
and relatives of people I know.

Joe
and Evelyn Bois standing by Evelyn’s display at The Hornbine School.

Evelyn
Rose Boise pointing to her aunt who attended Hornbine School in
1896.